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The Latest Breaking News from West Africa

Uncertainty looms in Mali as France announces troop pullout

France’s announcement that it will withdraw its troops from Mali has been anticipated by many in this West African nation where Malians have protested the presence of soldiers from the former colonial power

The Independent UK

Why has France been at war for a decade in the West African desert?

France and military allies are leaving Mali after using it for almost a decade as a base for fighting Islamist insurgents who continue to wreak havoc and control swathes of territory around West Africa.

Reuters

Jihadism and coups in West Africa’s Sahel region: a complex relationship

The political instability and insecurity in some Sahelian states in West Africa has led to the capture of political power by their military in recent times. Chad, Burkina Faso and Mali have all experienced coups.

The Conversation

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Sahel security: what a wave of military coups means for the fight against jihadi groups in West Africa – podcast

Mali. Guinea. Burkina Faso. Military juntas in West Africa have seized power in a series of coups in recent months. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly, we ask security experts what the coups mean for the war against jihadi insurgents in the Sahel – and for the presence of…

The Conversation

France to pull troops from Mali after decade-long jihadist fight

Paris (AFP) - France announced Thursday that it would withdraw its troops from Mali over a breakdown in relations with the country's ruling junta, after nearly 10 years of fighting a jihadist insurgency that still poses a major threat to the West African nation and beyond.

AFP

Mali debt defaults due to sanctions exceed $93 million

Mali has defaulted on more than 53.99 billion franc CFA ($93 million) in interest and principal payments since January due to regional sanctions, data from the West Africa monetary union's debt agency Umoa-Titres showed on Wednesday.

Reuters

Burkina Faso junta leader inaugurated as nation's president

Burkina Faso’s junta leader Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba has been sworn in as president Wednesday, less than a month after mutinous soldiers seized control of the West African country in a coup

The Independent UK

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Lassa fever: UK patient who died from rare rat-borne virus was newborn baby

The baby was one of three confirmed cases from the same family who had recently returned from a trip to West Africa, where Lassa fever is known to be prevalent

Daily Mirror

Paris hosts summit on Mali, considers troops withdrawal

France is hosting a summit devoted to the fight against Islamic extremists in West Africa

The Independent UK

Why West Africa has had so many coups and how to prevent more

West Africa’s latest successful coup, in Burkina Faso on 24 January 2022, has renewed unease about coups “returning” and democracies “dying” in Africa. The recent attempt in Guinea-Bissau, too, recalled the first decades after independence, when coups were rampant.

The Conversation

First person dies from Lassa fever as three cases confirmed in the UK

Before these new cases, there have only ever been a total of eight cases of Lassa fever in the UK. While an endemic in West Africa, cases in the UK are very rare.

Edinburgh Live

As French forces kill 10 suspected islamists, Sahel instability persists

French counter-terrorism forces based in West Africa have killed ten suspected jihadists accused of involvement in a massacre of police officers in Burkina Faso last November.

Radio France Internationale

Lassa fever: Death from rare rat-borne virus recorded in UK as two other cases probed

Three people from the same family in east England have been confirmed to have contracted Lassa fever after returning from a trip to West Africa. One has now died

Daily Mirror

Failed coup puts spotlight back on Guinea-Bissau's role in cocaine trade

In October, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo told French radio that drug trafficking and corruption were over in Guinea-Bissau, a country that has struggled to shake off its reputation as a "narco state" of West Africa.

Reuters

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Chicago Tribune

Commentary: Coups are happening where democracy is failing

The latest blow to democracy is the explosion of coups around the world. Weak democratic governments that are failing to deliver are being overthrown. This global phenomenon has been most evident in West Africa.

Daily Record

Two cases of rare rat-born Lassa Fever discovered in UK with third being probed

The potentially deadly Lassa Fever was detected in two people with a third person currently being checked and tested by medics.

The Guardian - UK

Two people in England diagnosed with Lassa fever

Potentially deadly infectious disease, endemic to West Africa, not seen in UK for 10 years

Wales Online

Two cases of rare infection transmitted through rats found in UK with third under investigation

These are the first cases of Lassa Fever seen in the country for more than a decade

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Daily Mirror

Two cases of rare rat-born Lassa Fever found in UK with third being probed

The UK Health Security Agency has said that members of a family which recently travelled to West Africa have tested positive for Lassa Fever - similar to Ebola - which kills around 5,000 people each year

Reuters

Mali says it will work with regional bloc, AU, UN on transition timeline

Mali's transitional government has created working groups with members of West Africa's regional bloc, the African Union and the United Nations to work toward a return to constitutional order, it said on Wednesday.

Al Jazeera

As militarisation spreads, ECOWAS faces credibility crisis

There have been four coups across West Africa in 18 months amid public collapse of trust in state institutions.

Reuters

Mali asks West African monetary union to lift "inhumane" sanctions

Mali's government has asked the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) to lift sanctions that will have severe consequences for the population, it said on Monday.

The Guardian - UK

Contagious coups: what is fuelling military takeovers across west Africa?

Specific contexts differ, but underlying factors often include jihadist conflict and failures to provide inclusive governance

The Independent UK

West Africa grapples with new wave of military coups

West Africa is grappling with a wave of military coups over the past 18 months that has some wondering which country could be next

Reuters

Factbox: Pushed into the shadows, Islamic State still has global reach

(This February 4 story deletes incorrect description of Boko Haram as an affiliate of Al Qaeda in paragraph 14; corrects number of Islamic State affiliates in West and Central Africa in paragraph 15; relationship between Islamic State West Africa Province and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara in paragraph 17;…

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